say the word, and we'll find a way
by SomethingMoreCreative
Summary: Annabeth meets the cutest black haired two year old while she's on vacation at the beach, but she really doesn't expect to have so many feelings for the little girl's dad. In which, pregnant Annabeth is on vacation, and she runs right into a black haired single dad that just so happens to live in New York too. Percabeth AU. Complete.


**A/N: Thank you so much to seawedebrain on tumblr for being my hella rad beta for this fic. I couldn't do any of this without you, Shay!**

 **Also, remember to head over to my tumblr for sneak peeks for my new multi-chapter fic that's going up this Wednesday. I'm really excited about it, and I've been posting about it for a week now if you want to get caught up. My ask box is open, and that's the best way to contact me. The link is on my profile.**

 **This is a single parents AU to celebrate my birthday week. This AU is complete, and I will not be continuing it.**

 _-7182015-_

It must be the hormones that are driving her crazy because she's not usually one to openly drool over a very hot guy.

But _goddamn,_ this guy is _gorgeous._ He's tall, and he has black hair. And good god, he must work out every single day because he's fucking ripped and she wonders what his arms would feel like if they were holding her up against the wall while he—

She takes a sip of her water. Yep. It's definitely the hormones.

She's on vacation at the beach, using up some of her excess off days while she can. The weather is really nice, and Annabeth is hoping for a nice tan before she heads back to New York.

She feels him shift suddenly, and Annabeth sets a hand on her stomach and looks down at the small, raised bump that took away her abs. She's about twenty weeks pregnant now, and this kid is kicking and moving around constantly.

The thing is, Annabeth has been on her own for a long time. Since she's about to hit her thirties in a few years, and the relationship thing didn't look too good, she decided to get pregnant on her own. She's always wanted kids, and now that her job is stable and awesome, she decided to go ahead. So she headed to the doctor's office, picked out a sperm donor, and hit the operation room.

Those first few weeks were hell, but they had a positive pregnancy test when she took one, and she's been excited ever since.

Her friends back home had told her that she needed to slow down and take some time to herself while she could. Annabeth had argued at first, claiming that she needed to do some more work for the nursery, but they hadn't listened, and her friend Piper had basically booked the condo on her own. Annabeth figured they were probably right, so she packed her suitcase and got on the plane.

She's been here for a few days, but this is the first time she's seen this guy. (And _man_ , is she glad that she did.)

Her muscles in her legs tighten when she sees what he's carrying, and her mouth dries up instantly when he looks at her.

God. She needs to calm down.

"Excuse me," he says, and suddenly, he's towering over her chair by the pool, looking down at her with these beautiful green eyes. "Can we have this chair?"

She nods, "Sure."

Annabeth watches as he slings a blue beach bag down onto the ground, grabbing a towel from it. He struggles a bit as he shifts the black haired infant up to his hip, and Annabeth finds herself saying, "I can hold her for a second if you want?"

He turns around and nods gratefully, handing her his toddler. The little girl smiles at her easily and huddles down into her shoulder when she lays her against her chest. She can't be any older than two, and she looks like a mirror image of the older guy with the same black hair and green eyes.

One of her small hands clasps the strap on her bikini, and Annabeth rubs her hand up and down her back easily, ruffling the tutu on her small, polka dotted bikini and smiling as she murmurs nonsense words against her skin. This kid is too cute, and it's making Annabeth's stomach do flip flops because _she's_ going to get to have this in a few months.

"Sorry," the older guy beside her says suddenly. "I can take her back if he's bothering you."

"No!" She objects. "She's too cute. And besides, you look like you need a break."

He sits back in his chair and sighs, looking at her with that same grateful smile. "You have no idea. We've been in the sand building castles _all morning._ She didn't even like getting in the ocean as much as I thought she would."

Annabeth laughs lightly, looking down when a little hand pats against her throat. "What's her name?"

"Riley," he says, gazing at the toddler. "She turns two this coming July."

"She's adorable," she says gently, reaching down from Riley's back and patting her won stomach gently.

"When is yours due?" The guys asks. "I mean, you're pregnant, right? Not that you look—"

She laughs because of _course_ she looks pregnant. "Yes, I'm pregnant, calm down. He's due in October."

"Have you picked out a name yet?"

Riley shifts slightly on her chest, and Annabeth reaches up to smooth her hair down. She looks over at him, "Not really. I've thought of a few, but none of them really sound right."

He nods, "What does your husband think?"

She hesitates, "Oh. No. I'm… doing this by myself."

Annabeth thinks that he might say something to her about how _it's okay_ or something about how she doesn't need a guy in her life to do this or blah, blah, blah, but instead he nods. "Me too. It sucks sometimes, to be honest with you, but I wouldn't trade her for the world."

She lets out a relieved breath. "No wife?"

He shakes his head. "Her mom wasn't interested in being around. I'm just glad that she looks like me."

"She's adorable," she says, looking down at Riley and smiling again.

"Yeah," the guy says. "So if you don't have a husband, can I ask what your name is?"

She studies him for a second before she says, "Annabeth."

"Percy," he says with a nod. "She must really like you."

Her heart starts beating a little faster. "What?"

"Riley never handles new people very well, so she must really like you," Percy says, smiling down at Riley in adoration.

She finds herself smiling, and somewhere in their conversation, Riley falls asleep on Annabeth's chest.

Ω

Annabeth is slipping into her sundress when there's a knock at her door.

She's smiling when she opens the door, and Riley immediately reaches out for her saying, "Nanabeth, Nanabeth."

She scoops her up and holds the door open so Percy can slip into her condo. He's carrying a blue diaper bag, and he's wearing a button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms and a pair of khaki shorts. He has Riley dressed in a really cute tank top with denim shorts. Annabeth wonders if he has help from someone or if he is just really good at picking out clothes. It must be tough to be a single dad to a little girl.

"You look nice," she comments, walking back towards the kitchen where her shoes are laying. Riley points out the window and waves her arms back and forth at some of the boats out in the ocean.

"Thanks," he says from behind her. Annabeth turns in time to catch his smile. "You do too."

She smiles back at him, but before she can say anything, Riley pats her cheek for her attention.

"Nanabeth, boats!" She says, pointing excitedly.

"I see them!" Annabeth says, shoving her feet into her flip flops. She would usually go for heels, but her feet have started swelling up farther into her pregnancy, so she tries not to wear them as often. "Are you ready for dinner, Riley?"

"Mmm, boats!" Annabeth hears Percy laugh from behind them, and when she looks back, he's still grinning at them.

After they met earlier today, they sat at the pool and talked for a long time. Annabeth found out that Percy lives in New York (just like her, which is so weird), and he's a high school teacher in the city. They talked for hours, and when they realized how late it was, Percy asked her if she wanted to join them for dinner. Which was just—really nice because she's been eating out by herself all week anyway.

It's kind of weird that they have such a good connection already, and Annabeth doesn't want to think about what it could mean if she says something about it.

"Ready to go?" Percy asks. He's still smiling, and he makes a face at Riley.

She smiles too and nods, "Yeah, I'm ready."

Ω

Percy's hand finds hers, and he weaves their fingers together.

It's been a few days since she met Percy and Riley at the pool, and she's been spending every possible minute with them. They play on the beach during the day, and then they either hang out by the pool while Riley naps on Percy's chest or in his condo so she can sleep in her bed. It's nice, and Annabeth really loves hanging out with them.

"Daddy!" Riley squeals as one of the waves washes up onto the shore and hits her feet.

He laughs, "You're fine! It's okay!"

And maybe it's still the hormones or whatever, but she hasn't been able to stop looking at him all night. Annabeth just keeps catching herself staring at him and imagining what it would be like and—

"You okay?" Percy asks suddenly, jerking her out of her thoughts. His eyebrows are scrunched together, and his smile has been replaced by a frown. Annabeth wants to reach up and wipe it away on her own.

She tightens her grip on his hand and smiles over at him. She can hear Riley laughing in the background. Her smile widens, "I'm perfect."

Ω

Annabeth watches as Percy lays Riley down into her Pack-N-Play and bends down to press a kiss to her forehead. Once they got back from the beach after dinner, Riley had been exhausted, so Percy and Annabeth had walked straight back to his condo to put her down.

They shuffle out of the room once she is asleep, and Percy pulls her toward the living room. The curtains are open, and Annabeth can see the ocean and people who are down on the beach with flashlights looking for sand crabs.

Percy falls down onto the couch and drags Annabeth with him. She sits down gently, and her baby bump is just big enough to set her hand on top of.

"Can I…?" Percy starts, nodding toward her stomach and holding his hand out.

She nods and takes his hand and places it where hers was a few seconds ago.

Percy smiles, "When Riley's mom, Rachel, figured out she was pregnant, we were happy at the beginning. We thought that we were going to be together forever."

"What happened?" Annabeth asks.

"She got this new job offer with a traveling agency to fly different places and paint portraits," Percy explains. "It was really cool, but we had a baby on the way, and I had a permanent job in the city that I couldn't just quit. We had a big fight and broke up, and she decided without me that we were going to put our baby up for adoption. I just… I grew up in a broken home, and my kid _wasn't_ going to be that way. So I made her wait it out, and once Riley was born, she took off. I had her parental rights terminated, and I haven't spoken to her since she left the delivery room. She sends me a check in the mail every few months for Riley though, and I put it in a savings account for when she gets older."

Annabeth's jaw is hanging open. "Percy, that's _horrible."_

He shrugs, "She just wasn't made to be a mom. She's more of a free spirit, you know? I don't blame her or anything, and she gave me Riley, so I'm really thankful for that."

Annabeth smooths a hand across her stomach until her fingers bump into Percy's. She can't imagine not wanting a baby, especially when it's your own and you have a boyfriend or husband that is going to help you. Annabeth can't even begin to think of what it would be like to not want that. It makes her dizzy just to consider it.

"It must be hard," Annabeth starts. "Doing everything by yourself."

He nods and looks at her softly. "Yeah, but I have some help. My friends are great with her, and my mom loves her, so we're not totally alone."

Her heart feels a bit better with that, but Annabeth curls her arm under her baby bump. "We will be. I mean, I have my friends and stuff, but they're all busy too, you know? And my dad lives out in San Francisco. My mom died years ago."

Percy doesn't say anything, but he removes his hand from her stomach and cradles her face in his hand. His eyes are just as soft as his face is when he says, "You don't have to be."

Her heart skips a beat, and her breath catches in her chest because _of course_ she doesn't want to be. She's known Percy for a few days now, but there's just something about him that she _really_ likes.

"I mean," he seems nervous all of a sudden, and he sits up, shoving his hand through his hair. "If you don't want to, uh, I just don't ever meet someone and feel like this, you know? But for some reason I met you a few days ago, and how weird is it that you live in New York, and—"

"Percy," she laughs, sitting up a bit so she can face him. "It's like that for me too."

He looks relieved, "Really?"

She nods, "Yeah."

Percy leans a bit closer to her, and one of his arms snakes around her waist, gently pulling her closer to him. His eyes look even greener up close, and she wonders if he can hear her heart beating.

"Annabeth," he whispers, leaning his head closer to hers.

"Yeah?" She murmurs back.

"Can I kiss you?"

She's afraid her voice is going to shake if she tries to say anything, so she nods and leans in closer to him.

Percy kisses her gently and sweetly, cupping her face and pulling her closer. His arms are around her, and he's so warm and Annabeth hasn't felt this happy in a long time. Not that she needs a man to make her happy (because it's pretty obvious that she doesn't), but it is nice to have a pair of warm, solid arms around her. She just feels _safe_ right here.

She makes a decision and then swings her leg over his until she's straddling his lap.

"Annabeth," he murmurs, pulling back enough to look up at her. "Are you sure you want…?"

She presses closer and peppers his face with kisses, weaving her hands through his hair. "Yes, Percy, please."

He just nods and pulls her closer. His hands inch down to her waist, and she presses up against him, smiling into his lips and holding on tight.

Ω

Annabeth sends Percy a text about making dinner plans right as she's walking into the grocery store to do some shopping. She got back from the beach late last night, while Percy and Riley had to leave a few days before she did.

They've kept in touch, and things are going great. She's really excited about being with him while they aren't on vacation because it just seems more _real._ It kind of scares her how much she likes him already, but it's the good kind of scary. The kind that makes your heart beat too fast while you smile so much your face starts to hurt.

She's halfway through the grocery store when she runs right into another cart. Just as she's looking up, she hears, "Nanabeth! Nanabeth!"

And then a smile is covering her face because she's just bumped into Percy and Riley, and _damn,_ this is weird.

(She also really missed them. Like, a lot.)

Annabeth abandons her cart and dashes toward them, hauling Riley out of the cart and hugging her before turning into Percy's arms. He still smells like the ocean, and Riley is gripping her necklace and babbling about something already, and Annabeth is just overwhelmed with how much this already feels like home.

When she pulls back enough to see Percy's face, he's smiling down at her, and it looks like he missed her as much as she missed him. Which is just—another blow to the chest really.

"I just texted you about dinner plans," Annabeth says, grinning up at him.

Percy laughs, "Then you should come over and eat with us, right, Riley?"

"Yes! Yes! Nanabeth eats with us!" She starts squealing, pressing her little hand against Annabeth's chest and tugging on her necklace.

So Annabeth agrees, and Percy presses a quick kiss to her lips before they continue through the grocery store.

Ω

Five months later, Percy and Annabeth have a baby boy. They name him Chase Jackson and Annabeth wouldn't want it any other way.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Leave a review!**

 **-SomethingMoreCreative**


End file.
